Mastercard has posted a net income of $1.9bn, or $1.82 per share, for the third quarter of 2018.
The results show an increase of 33% from $1.4bn, or $1.34 per share, in the year ago period.
For the quarter ended 30 September 2018, the card giant’s net revenue was $3.9bn, a year-on-year growth of 15%.
According to Mastercard Q3 results, operating income surged 18% to $2.3bn from $1.9bn in the third quarter of 2018. Operating expenses grew 11% to $1.6bn from $1.5bn a year ago.
The company also recorded a 16% increase in switched transactions to 18.8 billion, while cross-border volumes rose 17% on a local currency basis.
The company’s customers issued a total of 2.5 billion Mastercard as well as Maestro-branded cards as of 30 September 2018.
Mastercard president and CEO Ajay Banga said: “We had another very strong quarter, delivering solid top- and bottom-line growth. Our business wins and new partnerships, strengthened by our differentiated services offerings, are helping drive our global momentum.
“We are continuing to invest for the long term with a focus on secure and convenient solutions that will help us grow our core business and address new payment flows.”
Mastercard added that it repurchased approximately 5.6 million shares at a cost of $1.2bn and paid $260m in dividends during the third quarter of 2018.